It is always a shame when an interesting thread gets hijacked by off-topic, vituperative comments.
In an endeavour to get back to the original idea posited, I have spent £300+ on a knife and yes, I baton with it. My thinking is that you can spend what you like - and what you can afford - on a cutting tool and how you choose to utilise it is, again, up to you. There will be some who wish to preserve their new purchase in a mint state and those who wish to put them to good use. I would argue two points: first, it doesn't really matter how much or how little you spend on a knife - that really is a matter of personal choice, for which no-one should be criticised. However, the vast majority of bushcraft knives I have either seen or owned seem to cry out to be used, in all the various ways that we do, including batoning. If you are aiming to spend a lightweight night in the woods and do not wish to carry an axe, then you will probably find yourself using your £10 Mora or £300+ whatever to split some wood for your fire. Although the knife may not necessarily be designed to do that, it can. So, why not use it for some of the coarser, more brutal purposes? If it's a well-made tool, it'll be equal to any normal bushcrafty task you choose to throw at it.
At the end of the day, a knife is a tool and a tool, by its very nature, needs to be used.
